Impeller structure



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June 6, 1961 J, R URSCHEL 2,987,090

IMPELLER STRUCTURE Filed oct. 1, 1959 zfheetS-snee: 1

`une 6, 1961 Filed OC'b. l, 1959 J. R. URSCHEL IMPELLER STRUCTURE INVENTOR.

BY WWW United States Patent 2,987,090 IMPELLER STRUCTURE Joe R. Urschel, 158 S. Napoleon St., Valparaiso, Ind. Filed Oct. 1, 1959, Ser. No. 843,779 Claims. (Cl. 146-124) This invention has to do with meat grinding or cutting machines in which an impeller is used for revolving the meat within a comminuting chamber therefor, and more particularly concerns improvements in the impeller structure. This application is a continuation-impart of my co-pending application Serial No. 359,915, tiled June 5, 1953, for Meat Comminuting Machine which became Patent No. 2,938,558 on May 31, 1960.

An important object of this invention is the provision of a novel impeller structure having prong-like impeller elements with meat hooking faces intersecting other faces to form meat shearing edges cooperable with the chamber wall to comminute the meat as it is revolved in the chamber by and with the impeller elements attendant to impeller structure rotation.

A further object is the provision of impeller elements adjustable radially of a rotatable carrier head therefor of the impeller structure, together with means for holding such elements at selectively different radial positions, thereby adapting the elements to be set radially outward after their shearing edges become dull and to be thereafter sharpened by rotation of the structure and grinding back the edges to a common radius from the head axis to properly space these edges from the chamber wall.

These and other desirable objects inherent in and encompassed by the invention will be elucidated in the ensuing description, the appended claims and the annexed drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side view partly in elevation and partly in section of a meat comminuting machine of a character in which an impeller structure made according to the present invention is useful.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of a live element impeller structure constructed according to the present invention and used in the comminuting chamber of the machine shown in FIG. l.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken substantially on the line 3-3 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken on a plane coinciding with the principal axis of the comminuting chamber of FIG. 1 and as indicated by the line 4-4 of FIG. 1. v

FIG..5 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the inner supports a cylindrical housing 132 mounted thereon with its principal axis inclined at an angle of substantially 45. Housing 132 has an electric motor 133 mounted coaxially therein. Motor 133 is shown by dotted lines in FIG. 1 and the upper portion thereof is shown in full lines in FIG. 4. The armature shaft 134, FIG. 4, of the motor is journaled in an upper end wall 135 of the cylindricaly housing 132 by means of a ball bearing unit 136. A reduced diameter and threaded upper end portion of the armature shaft 134 is designated 137` and is turned into a threaded bore 138, FIG. 2, of an impeller head 139. e

- The head 139 of the impeller 141 contains live radial;

notches 142 spaced equiangularly with respect to the principal axis of this base. Each notch communicates radially outwardly through the cylindrical periphery of the impeller head and also communicates upwardly through the upper at face of such head. In FIG. 3 it can be seen that one of the notches 142, which is identical in structure with each of the others, has a bottom wall 143 containing a slot 144 extending radially of the rotor head 139. Each notch 142 slidably receives the base 145 of an impeller element 146. Each impeller element comprises an upwardly extending prong portion 147 having `a shearing edge 148 formed at the intersection of an outer face 149 with an upright face 151 and a forwardly inclined hooking face 152. The base of each impeller element 146 ihas a threaded recess 153 in the bottom thereof into which there is threaded a shank 154 of a cap screw 155. The threaded shanks 154 of these' cap screws are received by the radial slots 144 and are adjustable lengthwise thereof radially of the impeller head 139 pursuant to adjusting the impeller elements 146 radially of the head 139. When it is desired to resharpen the impeller element cutting edges 148, such elements are adjusted a few thousandths of an inch radially outward, and thereafter the entire impeller head assembly is rotated about its axis while the cutting edges are sharpened by grinding back to lie within a common cylindrical path of a radius to properly space these edges from the chamber wall. Such a cylindrical path is represented in transverse section by the circular dot-dash line CXR in FIG. 8 where it is shown the outer face 149 of the impeller element 146 there shown is disposed at an exterior angle in excess of 270 with respect to the upright face 151 to cause the shearing edge 148, seen as a point, to be the apex of an acute angle. It can also be seen in FIG. 8 that the outer face 149 is disposed chordally of the cylindrical path coincident with the line CXR.

The cylindrical rotor head 139 is received coaxially within the lower portion of a cylindrical inner periphery 157 of a comminuting chamber 158. The lower portion of the cylindrical inner periphery 157 is within a base portion 159 of the chamber 158. The bottom of this base 159 rests upon the upper end of the housing end wall 135 to which it is secured by clamping members 161 spaced circumferentially thereabout (one being shownl in FIG. 1 and another in FIG. 4) and secured to the end wall by cap screws 162. A lower cylindrical portion 163 of a side wall 164' extending upwardly from the base 159 and also containing said cylindrical inner periphery 157 contains a plurality of discharge passages 165 extending radially therethrough. As shown in each of FIGS. l, 4' and 5, these side wall passages 165 are elongated cir-` cumferentially of the cylindrical wall portion 163 and are each provided with circumferentially spaced narrow extremities 166 and 167. Meat deposited within the chamber 158 is revolved counter-clockwise therein with the impeller 141 as viewed from above in FIG. 4. Therefore, the meat as it is revolved in the chamber 158, is pressed centrifugally against the inner periphery 157 of the chamber side wall portion 163. The meat therefore approaches each of the passages 165 at the extremities 166 and departs therefrom at their extremities 167. These extremities 167 are in the form of cutting edges within the inner periphery 157 of the side wall portion 163, and such cutting edges would therefore be departure edges in the sense that they are the edges at the ends of from these passages.

thereof, FIG. 7.

Each ofthe slot-like discharge passages 165 is formed 'Patented .lune 6, 1961 L by cutting into the outer periphery of the chamber wall 163 by' a mining when not shwn having a circumferential profile conforming to the circle CIR, FIG. 7. When the milling wheel is advanced radially inwardly with respect to the wall 163 to cut the opening 165 associated therewith to be of proper length circumferentially of the wan 163, narrow opposite sides 16s and 17ov of the re sultmg passage will have concave curvature conforming to the circle CIR. The concave narrow side 168 is the impact side mentioned hereinabove.

As is visible in each of FIGS. 1 and 4 the passages 165 are grouped in respective series SER of such passages, the passages in each series being in lateral juxtaposition axially of the chamber side wall 163, and each series of passages extending axially of the chamber. Portions of the wall 163 between the passages 165 in each series SER are in the form of ribs 169 of less transverse width axially of the chamber than said passages, said ribs forming boundaries for long edges of said passages 165 and constituting separating means therebetween. Meat cutting means ou the sides of said ribs 169 facing inwardly of the chamber 158 may be in the form of sharpened edges 171 on the inner edges or sides of said ribs facing inwardly of the chamber as illustrated in thc species of FIGS. and 6. t It is preferred, however, to provide cutting means on the inner sides of the ribs 169 byforming notches 172 therein as illustrated in FIG. 7 the effect of forming shoulders 173 and slitting teeth A downwardly flared inner peripheral portion 1.75 ofthe'chamber wall 164 is adapted to guide meat downwardly into the cylindrical peripheral portion 157 of the chamber wall. Immediately above the downwardly ared conical periphery 175 is a cylindrical internal wall periphery 176 which is of the same diameter as the cylindrical internal periphery of a feeding tube 177, mounted in the lower end of a feeding spout 178 formed integrally with a hopper tray 179. The lower end of the feeding tube 177 removably rests upon a seat'179la on the upper end of the chamber side wall 164. In FIG. 1 the hopper tray 179 can be seen to be pivotally connected` with a rear wall 181 of a ground meat receiving apron 182 by means of a pivot pin 183jextending through laterally spaced apertured studs 184 (one being shown) on said wall 181 and through an apertured ear 185 depending from the lower side of the hopper tray 179 between the studs 18,4. The apron 1812 is mounted upon a circular flange 186 at the upper end and of the motor housing 132 by means of machine screws 187.

Operation of the machine Y With the machine arranged as shown in FIGQ 1, that is, with the hopper tray 179 pivoted counter-clockwise into the horizontal shown whereby the lower endV of the feed ingtube 177 rests upon the seat 179a at the upperv end of the chamber 153, pieces of meat suitable for cutting into hamburger or a similar product (not shown) are placed in the hopper tray preparatory to being fed downwardly through the spout 178. Thereupon a control switch handle 188 on the side of the base 131, FIG. l, ismanipulated conventionally for energizing the electric motor 133. Thereupon the armature shaft 134 ofthe motor together with the impeller 141 isV caused to rotate counter-clockwise as viewed from their upper ends. This causes counter-clockwise revolving motion of the" prong-like impeller elements 146 within the meat receiving chamber 158 whereby the cutting edges 148 of these impeller elements are swept contiguously with and about the cylindrical inner periphery 157 of the' chamber side wall portion 163 containing the passages 1 65. As the meatis fed downwardly through the spout 1778, the feeding tube 177, the cylindrical periphery portion 176 of the'chamber'side-wall portion 164 and throughrthe downwardly flared conical wall periphery 175 into theY lower part of the chamber wherey the meat" is engaged by the revolving impeller elements 146, such impeller elements iipoii engaging th meat cause it to revolve therewith. Centrifugal force of the revolving meat upon the downwardly dared wall surface 175 develops a downward force vector tending to pull the meat downwardly through the feeding passage including the tube 177 into the lower part of the" chamber 158. Frictional engagement of the revolving meat with the cylindrical inner periphery 157 0f the chamber 158 develops a reaction force upon the inclined hooking faces 1 52 of the prong-like impellers 146 thereby developing a further downward force vector upon the nieat for supplementing the force of gravity in causing downward movement of the meat within the chamber 158. t

As thev meat is thus revolved within the lower cylindrical portion of the chamber 158, surface portions there@V of bulge outwardly into the passages and are trimmed or snipped off from the main body portion of the meat within the chamber by cooperation of the cutting edges 148 of the impellers with the departure edges 167 of the passages 165. When the passages 165 are relatively narrow to cause the removal of meat particles of a size suitable for forming hamburger meat, thesev particlesl as they are sheared off at the departure edges 167jare dashed against` the impact sidesor surfaces 168, FIG. 7, of theA passages 165. Such collision of the cut-off meat particles with the impact surfaces 168 breaks down the cell walls of the meat to increase its tenderness. The' meat slitting means 174 or 171 on the inner sides of the ribs 169 prepare the r'neat so it passes through the mal-'- chine more quickly and with less heat generation.

Meat discharged f'rm'the discharge passages 165 ows onto the apron 182 from which it is easily discharged, because of the sloping position of this apron, into a suit'- able receptacle (not shown) below the lower left hand edge of this apron.v

Having described a preferredfgembodirrent of the iii-V vention with the View of compltely-and concisely illus trating the same, I claim:

V1. For use in a meat-receiving chamber of a meat corni:y

minuting machine, a meat impeller structure comprising a head rotatable about an upwardly extending axis, a plurality of prong-like meat impeller elements spaced circumferentially about said axis and projecting axiallyl up wardly from said head, the/elements being revolved about said axis attendant to rotation of the impeller structure' about said axis, each impeller element having' anvupwardly extending outer face on the side thereof opposite" from` said axis, a meat propelling face extending upwardly from said head andy facing in the direction such:

element is revolved during' impeller structure rotation, a hookingrface extending upwardly from said propelling face Aand also facing' in the direction such element is revolved during impeller structure rotation but said hook-f1` ing face being at an angleY to the propelling face facing downwardly, and the propelling and hooking faces of each element intersecting said outer face thereo'fto form therewith a shearing edge.

2. The combination set forth in claim 1, wherein sa'id outer faces of the impeller elements are disposed at an exterior angle in excess of 270 with their respective propelling and hooking faces tocause said shearing edges" to be the apexof an aiziute angle.

3. The combination s propelling and hooking' faces of theele'ments extend' subff stantially radially of the impeller structure axis, to disi pose said outer faces chordally of a cylindrical path generated about said' axis and intersecting said shearing edge.

4i ForV use" ina meat-receiving chamber of a meat comminuting-mchine, a meat impeller structurefcom`- prisig a head rotatable4 about an upwardly extending.

et forthV in claim 2, wherein the' revolved about said axis attendant to rotation of the impeller structure about said axis, each impeller element having an upwardly extending outer face on the side thereof opposite from said axis, a meat hooking face extending upwardly with reference to said head and inclining and facing in the direction such element is revolved during impeller structure rotation, and said hooking face intersecting said outer face to form therewith a shearing edge.

5. The combination set forth in claim 4, wherein the impeller elements are adjustable radially of the head,

and wherein there is means for holding said elements upon the head at selectively different positions radially thereof.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

